54. Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi

Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi is a South African-American painter and multi-media artist. Her work investigates power and its structures – political, social, architectural. Implicit in her examination of these structures is an interrogation of the invisible forces that create them, and an imagining of alternatives. She sees her subject choices as monuments to ideologies, referring to her architecture painting as “portraits” and her human portraits as “figures.” Nkosi and Zuckerman discuss the practice of being a parent, making things, going “back” places, the narrative of the return home, the faces on money, the struggle for freedom, doing work that matters, who gets celebrated and why, remembering people aloud, gymnastics and exactness, different definitions of blackness, the tender space of art, the risk of creating art, behavior, movement, and allowing ourselves to be an evolving being! *** This episode is brought to you by Kelly Klee private insurance . Please check out their website: Kellyklee.com/Heidi and they will make a $50 donation to Artadia, an art charity I’ve recommended, per each qualified referral. This episode is brought to you by Best & Co. Please visit www.BestandCoAspen.com and use discount code Heidi2020 to receive 5% off of any item on the Best & Co. website.  If you are interested in creating a custom piece please email [email protected] and mention that you heard about Best & Co. on my podcast to receive the special discount. *** Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please email [email protected] *** If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.Follow Heidi: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidizuckerman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/heidizuckerman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-zuckerman-a236b55/